Michigan

The rise of the Motor City Bowl

When the Motor City Bowl was created, many thought it would fail quickly, much like the Cherry Bowl years earlier in Michigan. However, that hasn't been the case. Marshall kept it exciting for many years in the beginning, and the last two years the biggest goal was accomplished with a team from the state of Michigan in CMU. This year, CMU and Purdue set an attendance record at 60,000, while having the intended match-up of MAC vs. Big Ten. The Motor City Bowl is turning into one of the most successful non-BCS bowl games.

"It's all about accessibility: people, especially the MAC fans, can get here for the price of a tank of gas -- and that's very important," Hoffman said. "We love having the Big Ten and MAC because of their geographical proximity, and they like us too for that reason."

ESPN does not have the final ratings for the game. However, Hoffman said early indications show possible strong numbers because of the dramatic second half.

The Motor City Bowl's future dream match-up would be to have Michigan, Michigan State, or Ohio State, against one of the Michigan- or Ohio-based MAC teams.

"We know who we are, we know our position in the bowl structure," Hoffman said. "We're not the BCS, we're not the Rose Bowl. But if that day comes (U-M or MSU), the Motor City Bowl will be like the Rose Bowl. Ford Field will be sold out, an electric stadium, no difference. We've already seen how good it can be from this year's game."